Message from IC Chair – 2017- 2018

M E S S A G E

At the outset, I express my sincere most thanks to IEEE fraternity to repose their faith in me to serve as IEEE IC Chair for another year in 2018. I would like to put on records my earnest appreciation of the help, support, and cooperation received by IEEE IC from all concerned in 2017.

In my last year’s message, I stated that IEEE IC is attracting the best people to serve on our various Committees and it is indeed the experience of 2017. IEEE IC worked in total synchronism and harmony of actions and thoughts. The team was having perfect team spirit and worked with admirable mutual understanding. I am fully confident that we will work exactly in the same manner during 2018.

In 2017, I mentioned that we will try to meet the expectations of IEEE members in India. Well, I will not make any comment but will leave it to the members at large to judge. However, I would like to mention here that IEEE IC has instituted a major award program in 2017, which was announced during Indicon 2017 in IIT Roorkee. The award program is named “Late Shri Pralhad P Chhabria Award” presented by Hope Foundation and Research Centre in association with IEEE India Council and Women in Engineering Affinity Group, IEEE Pune Section. The program will have two awards, viz. i) Best Outgoing Female Student (from the faculty of Science / Engineering / Technology) and ii) Best Women Engineer / Scientist / Technocrat (working Professional -Early Career Stage). The awards will be put in place in 2018. I request all concerned to have regular look at the award as well IC website for the updates on the awards. IC has initiated two awards in 2015 and in the year 2017 also these awards were given – One for IEEE India Council Outstanding Student Branch award and second for IEEE India Council Outstanding Volunteer award – during the AGM 2017.

I have earlier emphasized that the key goal of any organization, especially volunteer organizations, is to serve the members. The flagship Conference of IEEE IC ‘Indicon 2017’ has been successfully organized by UP Section in association with IIT Roorkee in Dec 2017. IEEE IC has come out with a new Logo for Indicon, which was put to use in Indicon 2017. AISYWC 2017 was held at IIIT Allahabad during 27th to 29th September 2017 with the theme ‘Imagine, Engineer, Enlighten, and Empower’. MV Chauhan Students’ Paper Contest was organized in Nov 2017 and two prizes were given, one each for UG and PG categories. IEEE WIE International Leadership Summit 2017 was held in Goa by Goa Engineering College with technical support by IEEE India Council along with IEEE Bombay section from 13th to 15th July 2017 with the theme ‘Disrupt – Breaking the Barriers of Thought’. India Council-Industry Relations Vice Chair has organized an outstanding webinar on ‘Business Opportunities from Subsystem Design to Satellite Building’ on 29th October 2017, which got huge success with more than 1500 registrations. An attractive and user-friendly new website has been made functional by IC Webmaster in 2017, for which he deserves a lot of thanks and appreciation. IEEE IC revived its Newsletter in the year 2017 and a very imaginative and well edited Newsletter has been brought out by the Newsletter Editor at the regular interval of three months, which is acknowledged as a yeomen’s service by IEEE IC. There were several other notable programs in 2017, e.g. IEEE Google Program at Nagpur, IEEE Google Training program at Google Bangalore, Students participation at ‘India Electronics Week 2017’ at Bangalore, IEEE WIE Workshop during TENSYSMP 2017 at Kochi, Electronics Makers 2017, to name a few.

As stated last year, IEEE IC will continue to serve as an effective coordinating body of IEEE activities in India. In fact, IEEE IC worked with total networking mode with all the IEEE Sections in India in 2017. I would like to thank three sections, viz. Kolkata, Kerala, and UP, who have extended wonderful support in organizing the Face-to-Face meetings of IEEE IC Execom. IEEE IC started Online meetings of its Execom in 2017 and there were five such meetings in 2017. I put on record our deep appreciation of the services rendered by the senior IEEE Volunteer from Bombay section, who has made such Online meetings a success. I am extremely happy to inform you that we had a very large number of participants in all the Online and F2F meetings.

In 2017 IEEE IC formed a WhatsApp group for all Student Branch Chairs across India with constant support and guidance regarding the functioning of SB, which is very helpful for networking and peer learning. Several Chapters of IEEE IC were also active in organizing meaningful programs in 2017, e.g. CAS, Photonics, PES, EDS and SSC Chapters. On behalf of IEEE IC, I express warm appreciation of their efforts. I am sure these chapters will continue their good work in 2018 as well. At the same time, I also call upon some other Chapters to become active and organize good programs in 2018.

All in all, we had a busy and productive 2017. Our activities have enhanced by 35% the branding of IEEE India Council through Social Media channels like Facebook, Twitter etc.

Let us all work together to have another great year of IEEE activities in 2018.

It is indeed my honour and privilege to serve as the Chair of IEEE India Council. I believe that the practical scale of measuring our strength is the degree to which we are forging a true partnership with IEEE volunteers.

The perspectives that I bring into this position reflect my experience working outside the traditional IEEE boundaries. In my various academic and administrative roles, I have always emphasized that the key goal of any organization, especially volunteer organizations, is to serve the people: the members, potential future members, and the non-members. We are here to serve them because IEEE will grow if and only if we meet their needs and provide an environment for them to grow both professionally and technically.

We remain in the forefront when we intentionally incorporate change into our thinking and planning, recognizing that the technical and scientific environments wherein we work continuously change with time. On the other hand, we are badly mistaken if we believe that past glory guarantees future success, and when we reject the ground reality of changing scenario and stick to past practices only.

IEEE India Council is a vibrant operational unit today thanks to the tireless efforts of my predecessors and peers. IEEE IC has served in the past and also will continue to serve as an effective coordinating body of IEEE activities in India. We will certainly try to meet the expectations, with contributions from our members. Our flagship events are making a great impact and are prospering, our financial health is sound and, best of all, we are attracting the best people to serve on our various Committees.

Connecting people, providing an efficient platform, responding better and faster to the needs of IEEE volunteers, and expanding our horizons both in technologies and in service are all the tasks we are well equipped to achieve in 2017. IEEE India Council will act to be a strong connector between local activities and global achievements. I am proud to state that I have outstanding IEEE volunteers at IEEE India Council to work with to achieve our goals.

Let us rededicate ourselves to place IEEE at the forefront of Engineering, Technology and Computing. I invite you all to work with us for the growth and prosperity of IEEE in general and IEEE India Council in particular.